Shame on the offensive coordinator

[filthy beast]

Evaluating any of the "skill" positions is wasted energy as long as the O line is so ineffective. Is every other O line so much bigger, so much stronger the UConn? I have never seen such poor blocking, run or pass. Much of this has to reflect on the coaching staff.

 

[junglehusky]

Evaluating any of the "skill" positions is wasted energy as long as the O line is so ineffective. Is every other O line so much bigger, so much stronger the UConn? I have never seen such poor blocking, run or pass. Much of this has to reflect on the coaching staff.

They did okay versus Houston, poorly against Temple who were in the backfield faster than Arkeel could say the word "boo". Some of this may reflect on the staff and playcalling, but I suspect most of it is Temple's D operating at a higher level than Houston's (also the fact that Houston's best player was ejected for the hit on Shirrefs).

 

[huskymedic]

They did okay versus Houston, poorly against Temple who were in the backfield faster than Arkeel could say the word "boo". Some of this may reflect on the staff and playcalling, but I suspect most of it is Temple's D operating at a higher level than Houston's (also the fact that Houston's best player was ejected for the hit on Shirrefs).

Yup... Temple's Defense is ranked 7th nationally in tackles for losses. Their front 7 is significantly better than many teams we faced this year. Bad match-up.

 

[sdhusky]

But we immediately put the QB in a 2 and 10 running up the middle with 9 men in the box on first down.
No one will agree but if someone actually put in a decent passing package - he would be our best QB with some coaching we don't have.

This gets a bit technical so it might go over your head.

The line has to block to give the QB time to throw and then the QB needs to be accurate. We don't have a line that can block nor a QB (with BS out) who is accurate.

 

[BlueDogs]

Boyle in 3 years hasn't even shown a flash of running a competent offense. His highlight at UConn was last week when we ran a conservative offesne just like this. In what world is a winning strategy to let Tim Boyle air it out?

We did the same thing last week. Everyone raved about the coaching then. It's not different now, just last week we were able to get a touchdown before BS got hurt, and the defense forced 4 turnovers.

If people want to say Anderson should have gotten significant action at QB, fine. I tend to give the coaches the benefit of the doubt since they have actually seen him play, but I can at least buy the argument since Boyle is as bad as it gets. But I don't know how anyone who has watched Boyle these 3 years could have an issue with the playcalling.

Like I said, I'd rather lose trying to win, then not playing to lose. If Boyle threw 4 interceptions and lost what difference does it make, they lose either way. If he connects on a few balls downfield, maybe we hang tough. Staff killed the D and asked them to be on the field all day long. By mid -3rd Q, the D was gassed and one step slower. It was an assine game plan, and at best a half hearted effort by staff. Sorry, I can't make excuses for that pile of schit effort.

 

[kemba]

Like I said, I'd rather lose trying to win, then not playing to lose. If Boyle threw 4 interceptions and lost what difference does it make, they lose either way. If he connects on a few balls downfield, maybe we hang tough. Staff killed the D and asked them to be on the field all day long. By mid -3rd Q, the D was gassed and one step slower. It was an assine game plan, and at best a half hearted effort by staff. Sorry, I can't make excuses for that pile of schit effort.

That's a meaningless cliche. We played "not to lose" last week, I liked that.

Connects on a few deep balls downfield? Has he completed one deep ball in his UConn career? Literally I'm not sure if he has. The one they tried this game was badly underthrown and intercepted.

Running the ball a lot and sticking with short passes is a gameplan designed to chew clock and keep your defense off the field. Throwing a lot with a career sub 50% completion percentage QB is not. But when you can't execute anything on offense you aren't going to stay on the field no matter what the gameplan is.

 

[junglehusky]

That's a meaningless cliche. We played "not to lose" last week, I liked that.

Connects on a few deep balls downfield? Has he completed one deep ball in his UConn career? Literally I'm not sure if he has. The one they tried this game was badly underthrown and intercepted.

Running the ball a lot and sticking with short passes is a gameplan designed to chew clock and keep your defense off the field. Throwing a lot with a career sub 50% completion percentage QB is not. But when you can't execute anything on offense you aren't going to stay on the field no matter what the gameplan is.

But when I pretend to be coach the QB throws it 50 yards and it's a completion every time in my imagination, therefore I am a better coach than these guys. Hire me.

 

[businesslawyer]

Wrong.

"Clearly Diaco didn't want to win the game" - Palatine

"Diaco forgot how to coach again" - Jimmy Serrano

"That game is just more proof that Boyle should have been starting the last 2 years" - Palatine

(edited 23 paragraphs or ramblings) - Carl Spackler

Well then, they must all be right and I must be wrong. Well -- I don't know if Carl is right or not. I read every word of 100 page legal opinions, including footnotes, but I can't get through half of his posts without losing focus, so I rarely know if he's right or wrong.

 

[warbler1055]

Well then, they must all be right and I must be wrong. Well -- I don't know if Carl is right or not. I read every word of 100 page legal opinions, including footnotes, but I can't get through half of his posts without losing focus, so I rarely know if he's right or wrong.

I can understand Verducci calling for running Newsome up the middle to test the Temple D for a few downs and series, but to keep doing it and knowing our o-line cannot block for practically the whole game while showing no confidence in Boyle, how is that a good game plan? May be we do not have the talent but Verducci's play calling did not help anybody or the team.

 

[Skiblets]

Went back and watched the tape. Wasn't so much that the O-line wasn't blocking it was more that Temple was sending more than we had to block. And we kept doing the same things over and over

 

[sdhusky]

Well then, they must all be right and I must be wrong. Well -- I don't know if Carl is right or not. I read every word of 100 page legal opinions, including footnotes, but I can't get through half of his posts without losing focus, so I rarely know if he's right or wrong.

I tease Carl way more than he deserves but his heart is in the right place.

 

[sdhusky]

I can understand Verducci calling for running Newsome up the middle to test the Temple D for a few downs and series, but to keep doing it and knowing our o-line cannot block for practically the whole game while showing no confidence in Boyle, how is that a good game plan? May be we do not have the talent but Verducci's play calling did not help anybody or the team.

It didn't work most of the game against houston. Except when Newsome took it 60 yards.

 

[Srqhusky]

Went back and watched the tape. Wasn't so much that the O-line wasn't blocking it was more that Temple was sending more than we had to block. And we kept doing the same things over and over

Offensive line play is the reason we lost the game period! There is no push at all. The coaching staff did not and does not to prepare for an over aggressive defense . This part is on them .

 

[Pudge]

What was the number one Offensive mantra for BOTH Houston & Temple? And frankly, they proved its value against Houston.

Ball security.

Diaco & Verducci were fine, obviously with Shireffs or Boyle, to play conservative. Try for first downs. But don't let either Houston (who had an intimidating propensity to take the ball) or Temple (now we know the strength of their front 7) cause us to defend a short field. Shireffs down changes things. But, they found a reined in Boyle gave them opportunity ... If we were taking the ball.

At 10-0 at half, the two Headed Diaco felt great. Just needed luck.

We saw the reality. I don't think it was an awful strategy. It was part of what brought the win the week before. Clearly it all fell apart miserably. For various reasons.

Boyle? I believe Boyle best moments in a UConn uniform were his first 10 plays. He really let it fly & many of those balls looked great. Like being lucky on the first tee at Winged Foot after not playing for 5 years. Just let loose. He's been inaccurate & turnover prone from 5 minutes in to this day.

 

[BlueDogs]

That's a meaningless cliche. We played "not to lose" last week, I liked that.

Connects on a few deep balls downfield? Has he completed one deep ball in his UConn career? Literally I'm not sure if he has. The one they tried this game was badly underthrown and intercepted.

Running the ball a lot and sticking with short passes is a gameplan designed to chew clock and keep your defense off the field. Throwing a lot with a career sub 50% completion percentage QB is not. But when you can't execute anything on offense you aren't going to stay on the field no matter what the gameplan is.

Im intrigued when folks argue in the face of reality. The outcome speaks for itself and proves you're reasoning is flawed, unless you're contention is we couldn't beat Temple under any circumstance. You're ideas are premised on the faulty notion that your opponent does not anticipate and scheme based on weaknesses and strengths. Temple shut down the run because they knew we would replicate what we did the prior week. We put together a terrible, lazy minded game plan. As far as Boyle is concerned, the kid has never been put in a position to be successful. He has managed into zero self confidence, second guessing and just don't make a mistake. We were playing with house money, and played with the conservatism of a team that feared losing too badly.

 

[Pudge]

So ...

Despite all we've seen from Boyle. Lots of plays. And considering we had success the week before against Houston with a strategy, YOUR plan is to let Tim Boyle become the crazed bomber.

 

[Palatine]

So ...

Despite all we've seen from Boyle. Lots of plays. And considering we had success the week before against Houston with a strategy, YOUR plan is to let Tim Boyle become the crazed bomber.

And your plan is to run off tackle against a six man front?

How did that work out?

 

[Jimdish255]

I'm really hoping that Tyler Davis jumps up to number 2 in the depth chart next year. He seems to have the tools to be pretty good for us, especially considering the fact that he seems to be a similar qb to BS, meaning we wouldn't need to make the drastic gameplan changes that we've seen with Boyle under center, if BS gets hurt again next year. I'm not trying to knock Boyle, but with the offensive line we have, a scrambling qb is a necessity, not a luxury. GA clearly hasn't shown enough in practice to be able to fill that role, so here's to hoping that TD can develop into that role sooner rather than later.

If Tyler Davis is developing beyond what we saw in HS his skills should give him a real shot to be the number 2 guy. Beyond that he could be a step up from anything we've seen recently. In other words, hope for the future if we can develop a decent blocking line.

 

[JMick]

If Tyler Davis is developing beyond what we saw in HS his skills should give him a real shot to be the number 2 guy. Beyond that he could be a step up from anything we've seen recently. In other words, hope for the future if we can develop a decent blocking line.

Davis seems like the prototypical QB for this style of offense. I have high hopes

 

[Pudge]

And your plan is to run off tackle against a six man front?

How did that work out?

Garrett Anderson. Noel Thomas as wildcat. Boyle. Luke Carrezola.

Those are four distinct things two-headed Diaco tried. Let Boyle wing it around the field seems to not be a plan destined for success ... given past history. And, leaving out Tyler Davis, I'm not sure we had other good options at the beginning of that 2nd half. Down 10-0 & getting the ball, I think I'd try to replay Houston & hope for turnovers.

 

[huskypantz]

He is wrong?

Do you honestly think that TD's offensive recipe would have led to a different result versus Temple, Tulane or Mizzou? What happened before Diaco does not matter now. Diaco is getting the most out of the offense based on the guys on the roster. I have no issues with the spread, we're just not build to be more dynamic than we are.

 

[J187Money]

Do you honestly think that TD's offensive recipe would have led to a different result versus Temple, Tulane or Mizzou? What happened before Diaco does not matter now. Diaco is getting the most out of the offense based on the guys on the roster. I have no issues with the spread, we're just not build to be more dynamic than we are.

No. I'm not talking about any specific game. Talking about the offensive philosophy. We seem to be recruiting to run a smash mouth ball control run oriented offense. But we can't run it against anyone good. I'm not suggesting we go Oregon. But there is something between that and what we do.

That's two games without an offensive score. We won one of them. But that doesn't say much.

 

[huskypantz]

No. I'm not talking about any specific game. Talking about the offensive philosophy. We seem to be recruiting to run a smash mouth ball control run oriented offense. But we can't run it against anyone good. I'm not suggesting we go Oregon. But there is something between that and what we do.

That's two games without an offensive score. We won one of them. But that doesn't say much.

Until we have a QB that can actually chuck it around the field with reasonable accuracy we'll continue to see the same. Shirreffs is a player but he's not a spread QB.

 

[JMick]

No. I'm not talking about any specific game. Talking about the offensive philosophy. We seem to be recruiting to run a smash mouth ball control run oriented offense. But we can't run it against anyone good. I'm not suggesting we go Oregon. But there is something between that and what we do.

That's two games without an offensive score. We won one of them. But that doesn't say much.

I disagree with your assessment of the offenses. I definitely think we're run-first, but I don't think we're smashmouth. I do think we are recruiting players and implementing a balanced offense. It's only year 1 for this offense, and I've liked the different sets we run. Do I wish we were in the gun a little more often? Yes. But at the same time, maybe the coaches don't think we're ready for it.

 

[J187Money]

Until we have a QB that can actually chuck it around the field with reasonable accuracy we'll continue to see the same. Shirreffs is a player but he's not a spread QB.

Right. TDH was talking about philosophy from recruiting through play calling. Not about what happened last night. Or what is on the current roster.

 

[JMick]

Right. TDH was talking about philosophy from recruiting through play calling. Not about what happened last night. Or what is on the current roster.

If you look at who we have recruited at QB, they're all dual threat, strong armed and 6'3" +. We're going to eventually be a play-action vertical offense. The pieces just aren't there yet.

 

[J187Money]

If you look at who we have recruited at QB, they're all dual threat, strong armed and 6'3" +. We're going to eventually be a play-action vertical offense. The pieces just aren't there yet.

I'm hoping so. I'm not really bitching about last night. I think we just got exposed by a good team and if we played them 10 times we would probably lose all 10.

 

[JMick]

I'm hoping so. I'm not really bitching about last night. I think we just got exposed by a good team and if we played them 10 times we would probably lose all 10.

I agree. I think it's pretty obvious what the staff wants to run. Big bodied TE's that sit in the middle of the field, recruiting either tall, or fast (and hopefully both) WR's to beat the defense either on the jump ball or by burning by them, and QBs who can scramble and have big arms.

 

[huskypantz]

Right. TDH was talking about philosophy from recruiting through play calling. Not about what happened last night. Or what is on the current roster.

You're a smart guy. Is really an element you can gleam from the last 2 years that suggests that Diaco has taken a stance in recruiting to not try to run a more wide open offense? TDH has an agenda and he knows that the best way to get supports for his posts are after losses, especially when we have a poor offensive display.

 

[J187Money]

You're a smart guy. Is really an element you can gleam from the last 2 years that suggests that Diaco has taken a stance in recruiting to not try to run a more wide open offense? TDH has an agenda and he knows that the best way to get supports for his posts are after losses, especially when we have a poor offensive display.

It does worry me that the staff seems to curl up and hide whenever the circumstances aren't perfect. I know we aren't that good yet. And hopefully they are just protecting out of need. But the tendency is to shut down v open up.

I can't even say they are wrong. But I know that if we had a different set of coaches we would be doing it differently. That doesn't mean we would be more successful. But this isn't the only approach.